⚠️ HRF CBDC ⛓️🪙 alert from HRF for Kazakhstan (29-JAN-2024)

🗝️ℹ️ (Key Information)

CBDC Status: Launched

CBDC Launch: 2023-11-15

CBDC Model: n/a

CBDC Issued: n/a

Inflation Rate: 8.04%

One-Sentence Summary:

'Kazakhstan has officially launched its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the digital tenge, in collaboration with Mastercard and Visa, raising concerns over human rights and liberties in a country riddled with corruption and restrictive legislative practices.'

Critical Analysis:

✅ Kazakhstan's Central Bank conducted their first public transaction using the 'digital tenge' on November 15, 2023, indicating their launch phase of the CBDC. 🇰🇿

✅ The CBDC was a result of collaborative efforts by Mastercard and Visa, designed to enable ease of transactions across retail outlets and online e-commerce spaces, with plans for a broader consumer reach in 2024.

✅ In response to the creation of a research hub in December 2021, recognizing the need to understand the implications of a CBDC launch, the Central Bank has published numerous reports and guidelines outlining on the researched outcomes.

✅ Questions on CBDC implementation, benefits, risks, and design strategy were addressed comprehensively by the Central Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan in July 2022.

✅ A white paper published in December 2022, contained an announcement that a phased introduction of the CBDC over a span of three years was crucial for improved financial inclusion, competition and innovation while enhancing Kazakhstan's position in the global market.

✅ However, the collaboration with Crypto exchange Binance in February 2023 brought forth discussions on CBDC's impact on financial stability, privacy, and potential cybersecurity threats.

✅ The December 2023 report showed successful testing of the CBDC bank cards with multiple banks and launched a pilot project on school-lunch voucher systems.

✅ Presently, Kazakhstan's government remains a controversial participant in human rights negotiations, with Freedom House allotting it a score of only 23 out of 100 in its 2023 report, triggering concerns of increased governmental control with the advent of CBDCs.

✅ Protests are met with severe restriction, internet blackouts, and preventative arrests and the pervasive corruption at all levels of government could exacerbate with the adoption of CBDCs.

Hashtags:

#Kazakhstan #CBDC #HumanRights #DigitalTenge #CentralBank

Question:

Considering the current state of Kazakhstan's political and civil situation, do you believe the launch of their CBDC will result in a safer digital banking arena or will it further skew power to an already corrupt system? Weigh in your thoughts.

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